New Zealand mixed

Profile

New Zealand has had a competitive Ultimate scene since the late 80s and this year's Worlds squad, Manuka, will represent the culmination of a burgeoning scene. Down yonder New Zealand way, the men and women do not have much opportunity to play in separate divisions so Mixed suits them particularly well. 

The New Zealand teams have proven tough competitors on the international circuit. In 2002 at the World  Ultimate Club Championships in Hawaii, the two New Zealand teams finished 7th and 8th, respectively, the best non-American teams at the tournament in the Mixed division. Hawaii, however, was closer than Finland for these guys, as if that makes a difference when you’re traveling at least 20+ hours by plane anyway. 

"One of the best things about Ultimate," says team representative Hayden Glass with good humor, “Is that we get to go halfway around the world to a country only a few clicks shy of the Arctic Circle that we know little about to play Ultimate for seven days. What could be better?" 

New Zealand also placed 5th at the last World Championships in Heilbronn 2000 and won the Paganello beach tournament that same year. They have great international experience and the players are comfortable with each other: qualities never to be underestimated over a long seven day tournament such as this one. 

You can expect them to make a challenge towards semis or finals from the 5th seed.

New Zealand on Offense and Defense

"Suffice to say we have trained a bunch. Our solid core of potential has been super-heated in the furnace of fitness training, and cast into a unique mould. Our defense makes the turnovers, our offence will convert them. We will be down on the pull, clogging the cutting lanes, stopping opponent’s cuts, bidding on every disc, owning the airspace and halting game runs."

"We are a mix of experience levels, from the heady heights of über-veteran Gary Jarvis to the first-time internationals who are just aching to carve themselves out a place in Ultimate history," says teammate Hayden Glass.

Players to Watch on Defense

Murdoch Vant, #79
Dave Rigby, #02
Shane Vuletich, #47
Michele Simpson, #22

Team's Best Throwers:

Gary Jarvis, #46
Brett Carlyle, #27
Polly Thomas, #14
Penny Jackson, #08

Team’s Best Receivers:

Dave Sanders, #03
Kim van Berkel, #04
Nadia Assaf-Noujeim, #11
Tania Davidson, #26

Interesting Facts about Ultimate in New Zealand

"We share with the Australians the rather dubious honour of having to train for Worlds during the winter. And we claim the unique distinction of playing Ultimate farther South in the hemisphere than anywhere in the world. So frosts, mud, rain and hail on the fields, hitting the gym before the sun comes up and doing sprints in the dark are all part and parcel of Manuka's preparation for this event," says Glass.

Team Colors:
Anthracite and White 

Roster:
23 players

Captains:
Captain: Penny Jackson
Coach: Glenn Webber  

Website
http://nzsquad.kicks-ass.net

The Team Name
Manuka (pronounced maa-nu-ka) means many things:

• It is the name of a tree (aka the tea-tree), whose wood is used in traditional maori weaponry.  sometimes manuka was partially burnt and its charred, blackened surface had sharp protrusions that made a nasty piece of equipment.  we can not promise sharp protusions, but we will certainly be dressed in black.

• A well-known maori whakatauaki (proverb) is 'manuka takoto - kawea ake', that is 'the manuka has been laid down, pick it up'.  in practice this means 'take up the challenge that has been laid down in front of you'. we see this tournament as the next in a long line of challenges that Manuka has already faced.

• 'puputia mai nga manuka' is a line from our haka. it means 'bind together the manuka branches'.  by itself, one piece of manuka can be easily broken. but bound together, many pieces (in this case 23) form an unbreakable whole.

Roster

1  Glen Skipper
2  Dave Rigby
3  Dave Sanders
4  Kim van Berkel
6  Will Edwards
7  Kris Lewis
8  Penny Jackson
9  Bronwyn Campbell
10 Warren Buckingham
11 Nadia Assaf-Noujeim
13 Mark McDonald
14 Polly Thomas
22 Michele Simpson
23 Alison Scarlet
25 Larissa Arney
26 Tania Davidson
27 Brett Carlyle
31 Hayden Glass
42 Jai Krishnan
46 Gary Jarvis
47 Shane Vuletich
79 Murdoch Vant

Written by Hayden Glass and Penny Jackson.